Tips to Get Ready for Moving Day!

Gather together everything you need:

Newspapers for cushioning or use as outer wrapping only *Note: No matter how old the newspaper, the ink always rubs off and can be embedded in fine china if used for wrapping. When using newspaper, wash your hands frequently or wear latex gloves to prevent leaving ink smudges on items you handle. Ink smudges can be wiped off. It is better not to take a chance.

Various sizes of sturdy cartons with lids that can be completely closed

Notebook and pencil for listing cartons as they are packed

Packing tape for sealing packed cartons - Note: We recommend 2" wide plastic tape. Do not use masking tape or duct tape, as they do not adhere well to cardboard boxes.

Felt marker for labeling the packed boxes

Scissors, sharp knife and/or tape dispenser. Now that you are ready...

Good Packing Means:

Wrapping items carefully

Making sure to pack firm boxes that will not rattle, bulge outward or bend inward

Providing plenty of cushion to absorb shock

Limiting the weight of boxes, where possible, to 50 pounds to make handling easier

Basic Rules of Packing

Pack similar items together.

Do not pack delicate china in the carton with iron frying pans, for example.

Start with out of season items. Next pack those items used infrequently. Leave until last the items that you need until moving day.

Keep pairs and sets of things together. For example curtain rod hangers, mirror bolts, and other small hardware items should be placed in plastic or cloth bags and taped or tied to the item which they belong.

Empty drawers of breakables, spillables, or anything that would puncture or damage other items. However blankets, sweaters, towels and other lightweight goods may be left in drawers.

Pack the boxes in layers with the heaviest items on the bottom, medium weight items next and lightest items on top.

Avoid overloading the carton, but strive for a firm pack which will keep articles from shifting. The cover should close easily without forcing but should not bend inward. Seal all cartons tightly with packing tape.

Label all cartons clearly by marking on the 2 sides and the top. When marked in this manner, determining the contents of a carton in a stack is easier.

As you finish with each carton, list it and its contents on an inventory in a notebook. You may want to number and code the cartons as well.

Indicate your name, a general description of the contents and the room that the box should be carried into at the new house on each box; e.g., kitchen glassware, bathroom linens.

Label any boxes that you will need immediately at the new house "unpack first".

How to Pack Glassware, China Silverware

Red's recommends using a Dishpack carton, an extremely sturdy carton of double wall construction designed especially for china, glassware, clocks and other fragile items less than 18" in size.

Place a two or three inch layer of wadded up paper in the bottom of the carton to serve as a cushion.

Wrap items individually in clean paper. Using several sheets of paper start from the corner, wrapping diagonally, continuously tucking in overlapping edges. A generous amount of paper and cushioning is required for all china and glassware.

Pack the largest and heaviest items in the bottom of the carton, medium weight and most fragile items on top. As each layer is completed, fill in empty spaces with wadded up paper and add additional paper to make a level base for the next layer. You may want to use our Dishpack cell dividers to protect the most fragile items such as stemware, figurines and model cars.

Dresser Mirrors and Pictures:

Mirrors, pictures and glass table tops up to approximately 30" x 50" can be packed into a mirror carton. Wrap each item in a paper pad or light blanket. After assembling two sections of a four-piece mirror carton place one section inside another section so that they overlap. The width can be adjusted to the size of the item to be packed but leave ample room on the sides for cushioning material. Place a two to three inch layer of wadded up paper into the bottom of the two sections then place the item(s) to be packed into the carton. Add some wadded up paper to the sides and adjust the width firmly against the item being packed. Assemble the other two sections and add cushioning around all sides. Cover the exposed section of the item being packed and make sure that all four sections overlap. Wrap tape completely around the box both horizontally and vertically. Do not lay a mirror carton flat; make sure that it is upright at all times.

Lamp Bases and shades:

After removing the light bulb and base harp, wrap the base separately in newsprint or a bath towel and place together in a carton, filling spaces with crushed paper. Never wrap a lamp base or shades in printed newspaper. Wrap the shade in two or three sheets of plain newsprint or a pillowcase and place separate from the lamp base in a medium or large carton. Only add enough packing paper around the shade to keep it from shifting. Too much paper can cause the sides of a shade to bow inward.

It is best to have a professional packer crate large Tiffany type or other glass type shade or chandelier

Bowls and Odd Shaped Pieces

Stand shallow bowls on edge in a carton and deep ones (such as mixing bowls) nested two or three together upside down on their rims.

Wrap bowl lids in tissue paper or half a sheet of newsprint and turn upside down on top of the bowl, then wrap both pieces together in a double layer of wrapping paper. Wrap cream pitchers in clean paper then a double layer of outer paper. Place pitchers, bowls and similar items upright in the carton being careful to cushion carefully. Complete the layer as for plates. Depending on their weight these items may be used as either the bottom or middle layer of a Dishpack.

Flat China and Glassware

Place cushioning material in bottom of the box. Then wrap each piece individually; then wrap four to six like sized items into a bundle with a double layer of newsprint. Place these bundled items in a Dishpack carton on edge.

Fill an entire layer of a box with bundles and surround each layer with wadded up paper to prevent shifting. Add two or three inches of wadded up paper on top of each layer to protect rims and edges and to make a level surface to pack the next layer on top of. Dishpack cell dividers can also be helpful in keeping layers level.

Figurines, Bric-a-brac, Other Delicate Items:

Small mirrors, plaques and pictures should be wrapped individually in tissue paper or newsprint. A bath towel also makes excellent wrapping for large glass. Place flat items on edge in a carton. Figurines and other small fragile items should be wrapped in tissue paper and packed in the top layer of a Dishpack or in a Dishpack cell divider.

Glass Table Tops, Marble Slabs, Extra Large Mirrors, Paintings:

All items are very fragile. They should either be professionally crated into a wooden crate or carried separately in your personal vehicle if possible.

Cups and Stemware

Wrap cups and stemware in a double layer of wrapping paper and place them upside down on rims in a row on the upper layer of a Dishpack.